As in painting the outside corner with a sinker, hooking a slider inside, then going back outside with the sinker. Hitters struggled to catch up, even as the lefty changed speeds, with immaculate control, between a leisurely 72 mph and a brisker 85.

The sinker was Jones’ default, and it dropped like an anvil. The slower he threw it, the more it plummeted. So frustrating was the pitch that Pete Rose once stepped out of the batter’s box and yelled, “Throw hard, dammit!”

For two seasons, seemingly no one threw softer -- or better. A year after going 8-22 with a 4.45 ERA in 1974, Jones won 20 games and led the National League with a 2.24 ERA.

In 1976, he went 22-14 with a 2.74 ERA. He led the NL in wins, starts (40), complete games (25) and innings (315 1/3). He won the league’s Cy Young award.

Yet it was Jones they came to see. The curly mopped blond drew crowds wherever he pitched, beloved as much for his every-man charm as he was for his winning. The late Jerry Coleman once referred to Jones as “the left-hander with the Karl Marx hairdo” (he meant Harpo).

The winning wouldn’t last. Jones snapped a nerve in his left arm near the end of that enchanting ‘76 season, ultimately shortening his career. He went 92-105 with a 3.30 ERA over eight seasons with the Padres.

But the charm remains. Now 64, Jones can be seen running his local restaurant and catering businesses. He can be heard on radio and television broadcasts, breaking down the game as only he can.

They are reminders of a San Diego accomplishment. More than three decades later, a legacy continues.

“My proudest thing,” said Jones, the Padres’ first Cy Young winner, “was in the 70s, putting the franchise on the map.”

The Randy Jones File

Born: Jan. 12, 1950, Fullerton.

Career: Drafted in the 1972 MLB draft by San Diego. Played for the Padres (1973-1980) and New York Mets (1981-1982).